Absorbent article with partially enclosed waist containment member and method of manufacturing thereof

ABSTRACT

An absorbent article ( 10, 110 ) can include a waist containment member ( 54 ) with a first longitudinal side edge ( 72 ), a second longitudinal side edge ( 74 ), a proximal portion ( 76 ), an intermediate portion ( 77 ), and a distal portion ( 78 ). The proximal portion ( 76 ) can be coupled to the chassis ( 11 ) of the absorbent article ( 10, 110 ). The intermediate portion ( 77 ) can be free to move independent of the proximal portion ( 76 ) and the distal portion ( 78 ) and free to move independent of the body facing surface ( 19 ) of the chassis ( 11 ) to provide a containment pocket ( 82 ) for containing body exudates. The distal portion ( 78 ) can be disposed underneath the intermediate portion ( 77 ) when the absorbent article ( 10, 110 ) is in the stretched, laid-flat configuration. The waist containment member ( 54 ) can also include a first lateral tack-down region ( 83   a ) and a second lateral tack-down region ( 83   b ).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional application and claims priorityto U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/507,811, filed on Mar. 1, 2017,which is a national-phase entry, under 35 U.S.C. § 371, of PCT PatentApplication No. PCT/US15/38271, filed on Jun. 29, 2015 all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to absorbent articles.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A primary function of personal care absorbent articles is to absorb andretain body exudates such as urine, fecal material, blood, and menseswith additional desired attributes including low leakage of the exudatesfrom the absorbent article and a dry feel to the wearer of the absorbentarticle. By preventing leakage of the exudates from the absorbentarticle, the absorbent article intends to prevent the body exudates fromsoiling or contaminating a wearer's or caregiver's clothing or otherarticles, such as bedding, that can come in contact with the wearer.

One common mode of failure is for exudates to leak out of the rear waistregion or the front waist region of an absorbent article. As oneexample, fecal material that is not absorbed or contained by theabsorbent article can move past the gaps between the absorbent articleand the wearer's skin in the rear waist region and soil or contaminatethe wearer's skin and clothing near their back. This may be more commonof an occurrence for semi-solid fecal material, such as low viscosityfecal material, which can be prevalent with younger children. Suchexudates can move around on the bodyside liner of an absorbent articleunder the influence of gravity, motion, force, and pressure by thewearer of the absorbent article. In such a circumstance, not only doesthe wearer's absorbent article need to be changed, but the wearer'sclothing and/or bedding often also needs to be changed, resulting inadditional work, expense, and stress for the caregiver.

Attempts have been made in the past to provide containment systems,especially on the bodyside liner or near the rear waist region to solvethe problems described above. One example is by providing a waistelastic member and not adhering a portion of the waist containmentmember closest to the lateral axis of the absorbent article to thebodyside liner, such that the non-adhered portion of the waist elasticmember can provide a containment pocket for exudates. One example ofthis configuration is a HUGGIES® Little Snugglers diaper. Althoughabsorbent articles with such containment members intend to preventleakage of exudates and have functioned adequately, failures can stilloccur.

Thus, there is a desire for improvements to containment systems andcontainment members of absorbent articles to prevent leakage ofexudates, especially in the waist regions of the absorbent article.There is also a desire for improvements in containment systems to haveincreased void volumes to hold body exudates until the absorbent articlecan be changed.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one embodiment, an absorbent article can include a front waistregion, a rear waist region, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and alateral axis. The absorbent article can include a chassis including anabsorbent body. The chassis can include a body facing surface and agarment facing surface. The absorbent article can also include a waistcontainment member disposed on the body facing surface of the chassis.The waist containment member can include a first longitudinal side edgeand a second longitudinal side edge. The first longitudinal side edgecan be disposed on a first side of the longitudinal axis and the secondlongitudinal edge can be disposed on a second side of the longitudinalaxis. The waist containment member can further include an upper lateraledge and a lower lateral edge. The first longitudinal side edge, thesecond longitudinal side edge, the upper lateral edge, and the lowerlateral edge of the waist containment member can be defined when theabsorbent article is in a stretched laid-flat configuration. The waistcontainment member can also include a proximal portion that can becoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis. The waist containmentmember can further include a distal portion and an intermediate portion.The intermediate portion can be disposed between the proximal portionand the distal portion. The intermediate portion can be free to moveindependent of the proximal portion and the distal portion and can befree to move independent of the body facing surface of the chassis toprovide a containment pocket for containing body exudates. The distalportion can be disposed underneath the intermediate portion when theabsorbent article is in the stretched laid-flat configuration.

In another embodiment, an absorbent article can include a front waistregion, a rear waist region, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and alateral axis. The absorbent article can include a chassis including anabsorbent body. The chassis can include a body facing surface and agarment facing surface. The absorbent article can also include a waistcontainment member disposed on the body facing surface of the chassis.The waist containment member can include a first longitudinal side edgeand a second longitudinal side edge. The first longitudinal side edgecan be disposed on a first side of the longitudinal axis and the secondlongitudinal edge can be disposed on a second side of the longitudinalaxis. The waist containment member can further include an upper lateraledge and a lower lateral edge. The first longitudinal side edge, thesecond longitudinal side edge, the upper lateral edge, and the lowerlateral edge of the waist containment member can be defined when theabsorbent article is in a stretched laid-flat configuration. The waistcontainment member can also include a proximal portion that can becoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis. The waist containmentmember can further include a distal portion. The waist containmentmember can additionally include a first lateral tack-down region and asecond lateral tack-down region. The first lateral tack-down region caninclude the distal portion of the waist containment member on the firstside of the longitudinal axis being coupled to the body facing surfaceof the chassis from the first longitudinal side edge in a lateraldirection towards the proximal end of the base portion of the firstcontainment flap. The second lateral tack-down region can include thedistal portion of the waist containment member on the second side of thelongitudinal axis being coupled to the body facing surface of thechassis from the second longitudinal side edge in a lateral directiontowards the proximal end of the base portion of the second containmentflap. The waist containment member can be gathered in the longitudinaldirection such that the waist containment member can extend away fromthe body facing surface of the chassis to provide a containment pocketfor containing exudates between the first lateral tack-down region andthe upper lateral edge of the waist containment member and between thesecond lateral tack-down region and the upper lateral edge of the waistcontainment member.

In yet another embodiment, a method of manufacturing an absorbentarticle is provided. The absorbent article can include a front waistregion, a rear waist region, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and alateral axis. The method can include providing a chassis including abody facing surface. The chassis can include an absorbent assemblyincluding a bodyside liner, an outer cover, and an absorbent bodydisposed between the bodyside liner and the outer cover. The absorbentassembly can include a body facing surface. The method can furtherinclude providing a continuous web of waist containment member material.The method can also include folding at least a first portion of thecontinuous web of waist containment member material upon itself toprovide a folded edge. The method can additionally include cutting thecontinuous web of waist containment member material to provide a waistcontainment member including a proximal portion, an intermediateportion, a distal portion, a first longitudinal side edge, a secondlongitudinal side edge, an upper lateral edge, and a lower lateral edge.The folded edge can provide the distal portion to be folded against theintermediate portion and can define the lower lateral edge of the waistcontainment member. The intermediate portion can be disposed between theproximal portion and the distal portion. The method can also includebonding the proximal portion of the waist containment member to the bodyfacing surface of the chassis. The method can include bonding the distalportion of the waist containment member to the body facing surface ofthe chassis to provide a first lateral tack-down region near the firstlongitudinal side edge of the waist containment member and a secondlateral tack-down region near the second longitudinal side edge of thewaist containment member. The first lateral tack-down region and thesecond lateral tack-down region can be formed such that the firstlateral tack-down region and the second lateral tack-down region of thewaist containment member are disposed away from the lower lateral edgeof the waist containment member when the absorbent article is in thestretched laid-flat configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure thereof, directed to one of ordinaryskill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of thespecification, which makes reference to the appended figures in which:

FIG. 1 is side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of anabsorbent article, such as a diaper, in a fastened condition.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the absorbent article of FIG. 1 in astretched, laid flat, unfastened condition.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the absorbent article of FIG. 2 inan unfastened, relaxed condition.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 from FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 from FIG. 2 , butwith the waist containment member being shown in a relaxed configurationsuch that the waist containment member can provide void volume forexudates.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5A, but of analternative embodiment of a waist containment member.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5A, but of analternative embodiment of a waist containment member.

FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5A, but of analternative embodiment of a waist containment member.

FIG. 5E is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5A, but of analternative embodiment of a waist containment member.

FIG. 5F is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5A, but of analternative embodiment of a waist containment member.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of anabsorbent article, such as a pant.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the absorbent article of FIG. 6 in astretched, laid flat condition.

FIG. 8 is a process schematic depicting an exemplary embodiment of amethod of manufacturing an absorbent article including a waistcontainment member.

FIG. 9 is a process schematic depicting some of the steps of forming thewaist containment member of the method depicted in FIG. 8 .

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features orelements of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

In an embodiment, the present disclosure is generally directed towardsan absorbent article 10, 110 having a waist containment member 54, 154,254, 354, 454, 554 providing volume for exudates and a method ofmanufacturing 610 thereof. Each example is provided by way ofexplanation and is not meant as a limitation. For example, featuresillustrated or described as part of one embodiment or figure can be usedon another embodiment or figure to yield yet another embodiment. It isintended that the present disclosure include such modifications andvariations.

When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the preferredembodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” areintended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms“comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive andmean that there may be additional elements other than the listedelements. Many modifications and variations of the present disclosurecan be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.Therefore, the exemplary embodiments described above should not be usedto limit the scope of the invention.

Definitions

The term “absorbent article” refers herein to an article which may beplaced against or in proximity to the body (i.e., contiguous with thebody) of the wearer to absorb and contain various liquid, solid, andsemi-solid exudates discharged from the body. Such absorbent articles,as described herein, are intended to be discarded after a limited periodof use instead of being laundered or otherwise restored for reuse. It isto be understood that the present disclosure is applicable to variousdisposable absorbent articles, including, but not limited to, diapers,diaper pants, training pants, youth pants, swim pants, feminine hygieneproducts, including, but not limited to, menstrual pads or pants,incontinence products, medical garments, surgical pads and bandages,other personal care or health care garments, and the like withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

The term “acquisition layer” refers herein to a layer capable ofaccepting and temporarily holding liquid body exudates to decelerate anddiffuse a surge or gush of the liquid body exudates and to subsequentlyrelease the liquid body exudates therefrom into another layer or layersof the absorbent article.

The term “bonded” or “coupled” refers herein to the joining, adhering,connecting, attaching, or the like, of two elements. Two elements willbe considered bonded or coupled together when they are joined, adhered,connected, attached, or the like, directly to one another or indirectlyto one another, such as when each is directly bonded to intermediateelements. The bonding or coupling of one element to another can occurvia continuous or intermittent bonds.

The term “carded web” refers herein to a web containing natural orsynthetic staple length fibers typically having fiber lengths less thanabout 100 mm. Bales of staple fibers can undergo an opening process toseparate the fibers which are then sent to a carding process whichseparates and combs the fibers to align them in the machine directionafter which the fibers are deposited onto a moving wire for furtherprocessing. Such webs are usually subjected to some type of bondingprocess such as thermal bonding using heat and/or pressure. In additionto or in lieu thereof, the fibers may be subject to adhesive processesto bind the fibers together such as by the use of powder adhesives. Thecarded web may be subjected to fluid entangling, such ashydroentangling, to further intertwine the fibers and thereby improvethe integrity of the carded web. Carded webs, due to the fiber alignmentin the machine direction, once bonded, will typically have more machinedirection strength than cross machine direction strength.

The term “film” refers herein to a thermoplastic film made using anextrusion and/or forming process, such as a cast film or blown filmextrusion process. The term includes apertured films, slit films, andother porous films which constitute liquid transfer films, as well asfilms which do not transfer fluids, such as, but not limited to, barrierfilms, filled films, breathable films, and oriented films.

The term “gsm” refers herein to grams per square meter.

The term “hydrophilic” refers herein to fibers or the surfaces of fiberswhich are wetted by aqueous liquids in contact with the fibers. Thedegree of wetting of the materials can, in turn, be described in termsof the contact angles and the surface tensions of the liquids andmaterials involved. Equipment and techniques suitable for measuring thewettability of particular fiber materials or blends of fiber materialscan be provided by Cahn SFA-222 Surface Force Analyzer System, or asubstantially equivalent system. When measured with this system, fibershaving contact angles less than 90 are designated “wettable” orhydrophilic, and fibers having contact angles greater than 90 aredesignated “nonwettable” or hydrophobic.

The term “liquid impermeable” refers herein to a layer or multi-layerlaminate in which liquid body exudates, such as urine, will not passthrough the layer or laminate, under ordinary use conditions, in adirection generally perpendicular to the plane of the layer or laminateat the point of liquid contact.

The term “liquid permeable” refers herein to any material that is notliquid impermeable.

The term “meltblown” refers herein to fibers formed by extruding amolten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine, usuallycircular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into converginghigh velocity heated gas (e.g., air) streams which attenuate thefilaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameter,which can be a microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers arecarried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on acollecting surface to form a web of randomly dispersed meltblown fibers.Such a process is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 toButin et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Meltblownfibers are microfibers which may be continuous or discontinuous, aregenerally smaller than about 0.6 denier, and may be tacky andself-bonding when deposited onto a collecting surface.

The term “nonwoven” refers herein to materials and webs of materialwhich are formed without the aid of a textile weaving or knittingprocess. The materials and webs of materials can have a structure ofindividual fibers, filaments, or threads (collectively referred to as“fibers”) which can be interlaid, but not in an identifiable manner asin a knitted fabric. Nonwoven materials or webs can be formed from manyprocesses such as, but not limited to, meltblowing processes,spunbonding processes, carded web processes, etc.

The term “pliable” refers herein to materials which are compliant andwhich will readily conform to the general shape and contours of thewearer's body.

The term “spunbond” refers herein to small diameter fibers which areformed by extruding molten thermoplastic material as filaments from aplurality of fine capillaries of a spinnerette having a circular orother configuration, with the diameter of the extruded filaments thenbeing rapidly reduced by a conventional process such as, for example,eductive drawing, and processes that are described in U.S. Pat. No.4,340,563 to Appel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,817 to Matsuki et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and3,341,394 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartmann, U.S. Pat. No.3,502,538 to Peterson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo et al., eachof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Spunbondfibers are generally continuous and often have average deniers largerthan about 0.3, and in an embodiment, between about 0.6, 5 and 10 andabout 15, 20 and 40. Spunbond fibers are generally not tacky when theyare deposited on a collecting surface.

The term “superabsorbent” refers herein to a water-swellable,water-insoluble organic or inorganic material capable, under the mostfavorable conditions, of absorbing at least about 15 times its weightand, in an embodiment, at least about 30 times its weight, in an aqueoussolution containing 0.9 weight percent sodium chloride. Thesuperabsorbent materials can be natural, synthetic and modified naturalpolymers and materials. In addition, the superabsorbent materials can beinorganic materials, such as silica gels, or organic compounds, such ascross-linked polymers.

The term “thermoplastic” refers herein to a material which softens andwhich can be shaped when exposed to heat and which substantially returnsto a non-softened condition when cooled.

The term “user” or “caregiver” refers herein to one who fits anabsorbent article, such as, but not limited to, a diaper, diaper pant,training pant, youth pant, incontinent product, or other absorbentarticle about the wearer of one of these absorbent articles. A user anda wearer can be one and the same person.

Absorbent Article:

Referring to FIGS. 1-5A, a non-limiting illustration of an absorbentarticle 10, for example, a diaper, is illustrated. Other embodiments ofthe absorbent article could include training pants, youth pants, adultincontinence garments, and feminine hygiene articles. While theembodiments and illustrations described herein may generally apply toabsorbent articles manufactured in the product longitudinal direction,which is hereinafter called the machine direction manufacturing of aproduct, it should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art couldapply the information herein to absorbent articles manufactured in thelatitudinal direction of the product, which hereinafter is called thecross direction manufacturing of a product, without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, the absorbent article110 in FIGS. 6 and 7 provides an exemplary embodiment of an absorbentarticle 110 that can be manufactured in cross-direction manufacturingprocess.

The absorbent article 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the absorbentarticle 110 in FIGS. 6 and 7 can each include a chassis 11. Theabsorbent article 10, 110 can include a front waist region 12, a rearwaist region 14, and a crotch region 16 disposed between the front waistregion 12 and the rear waist region 14 and interconnecting the front andrear waist regions, 12, 14, respectively. The front waist region 12 canbe referred to as the front end region, the rear waist region 14 can bereferred to as the rear end region, and the crotch region 16 can bereferred to as the intermediate region. In the embodiment depicted inFIGS. 6 and 7 , a three-piece construction of an absorbent article 110is depicted where the absorbent article 110 can have a chassis 11including a front waist panel 13 defining the front waist region 12, arear waist panel 15 defining the rear waist region 14, and an absorbentpanel 17 defining the crotch region 16 of the absorbent article 110. Theabsorbent panel 17 can extend between the front waist panel 13 and therear waist panel 15. In some embodiments, the absorbent panel 17 canoverlap the front waist panel 13 and the rear waist panel 15. Theabsorbent panel 17 can be bonded to the front waist panel 13 and therear waist panel 15 to define a three-piece construction. However, it iscontemplated that an absorbent article can be manufactured in across-direction without being a three-piece construction garment.

The absorbent article 10, 110 can have a pair of longitudinal side edges18, 20, and a pair of opposite waist edges, respectively designatedfront waist edge 22 and rear waist edge 24. The front waist region 12can be contiguous with the front waist edge 22 and the rear waist region14 can be contiguous with the rear waist edge 24. The longitudinal sideedges 18, 20 can extend from the front waist edge 22 to the rear waistedge 24. The longitudinal side edges 18, 20 can extend in a directionparallel to the longitudinal direction 30 for their entire length, suchas for the absorbent articles 10, 110 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6 . Inother embodiments, the longitudinal side edges 18, 20 can be curvedbetween the front waist edge 22 and the rear waist edge 24. In theabsorbent article 110 of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the longitudinal side edges 18,20 can include portions of the front waist panel 13, the absorbent panel17, and the rear waist panel 15.

The front waist region 12 can include the portion of the absorbentarticle 10, 110 that, when worn, is positioned at least in part on thefront of the wearer while the rear waist region 14 can include theportion of the absorbent article 10, 110 that, when worn, is positionedat least in part on the back of the wearer. The crotch region 16 of theabsorbent article 10, 110 can include the portion of the absorbentarticle 10, 110 that, when worn, is positioned between the legs of thewearer and can partially cover the lower torso of the wearer. The waistedges, 22 and 24, of the absorbent article 10, 110 are configured toencircle the waist of the wearer and together define a central waistopening 23 (as labeled in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 ) for the waist of thewearer. Portions of the longitudinal side edges 18, 20 in the crotchregion 16 can generally define leg openings for the legs of the wearerwhen the absorbent article 10, 110 is worn.

The absorbent article 10, 110 can include an outer cover 26 and abodyside liner 28. The outer cover 26 and the bodyside liner 28 can forma portion of the chassis 11. In an embodiment, the bodyside liner 28 canbe bonded to the outer cover 26 in a superposed relation by any suitablemeans such as, but not limited to, adhesives, ultrasonic bonds, thermalbonds, pressure bonds, or other conventional techniques. As an example,FIGS. 4-5F depict the bodyside liner 28 bonded to the outer cover 26with adhesive 27. The outer cover 26 can define a length in alongitudinal direction 30, and a width in the lateral direction 32,which, in the illustrated embodiment, can coincide with the length andwidth of the absorbent article 10, 110. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7, the absorbent article 10, 110 can have a longitudinal axis 29extending in the longitudinal direction 30 and a lateral axis 31extending in the lateral direction 32.

The chassis 11 can include an absorbent body 34. The absorbent body 34can be disposed between the outer cover 26 and the bodyside liner 28.The absorbent body 34 can have longitudinal edges, 36 and 38, which, inan embodiment, can form portions of the longitudinal side edges, 18 and20, respectively, of the absorbent article 10, 110. The absorbent body34 can have a first end edge 40 that is opposite a second end edge 42,respectively, which, in an embodiment, can form portions of the waistedges, 22 and 24, respectively, of the absorbent article 10, 110. Insome embodiments, the first end edge 40 can be in the front waist region12. In some embodiments, the second end edge 42 can be in the rear waistregion 14. In an embodiment, the absorbent body 34 can have a length andwidth that are the same as or less than the length and width of theabsorbent article 10, 110. The bodyside liner 28, the outer cover 26,and the absorbent body 34 can form part of an absorbent assembly 44. Inthe absorbent article 110 of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the absorbent panel 17 canform the absorbent assembly 44. The absorbent assembly 44 can alsoinclude a fluid transfer layer (not shown) and a fluid acquisition layer(not shown) between the bodyside liner 28 and the fluid transfer layeras is known in the art. The absorbent assembly 44 can also include aspacer layer (not shown) disposed between the absorbent body 34 and theouter cover 26 as is known in the art.

The absorbent article 10, 110 can be configured to contain and/or absorbliquid, solid, and semi-solid body exudates discharged from the wearer.In some embodiments, containment flaps 50, 52 can be configured toprovide a barrier to the lateral flow of body exudates. To furtherenhance containment and/or absorption of body exudates, the absorbentarticle 10, 110 can suitably include a waist containment member 54, 154,254, 354, 454, 554. In some embodiments, the waist containment member54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554 can be disposed in the rear waist region 14of the absorbent article 10, 110. Although not depicted herein, it iscontemplated that the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354, 454,554 can be additionally or alternatively disposed in the front waistregion 12 of the absorbent article 10, 110.

The waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554 can be disposedon the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 to help contain and/orabsorb body exudates. In some embodiments, such as in the absorbentarticle 10 depicted in FIGS. 1-5F, the waist containment member 54, 154,254, 354, 454, 554 can be disposed on the body facing surface 45 of theabsorbent assembly 44. In some embodiments, the waist containment member54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554 can be disposed on the body facing surface56 of the bodyside liner 28. In some embodiments, such as in theabsorbent article 110 depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the waist containmentmember 54 can be disposed on the body facing surface 58 of the rearwaist panel 15.

The absorbent article 10, 110 can further include leg elastic members60, 62 as are known to those skilled in the art. The leg elastic members60, 62 can be attached to the outer cover 26 and/or the bodyside liner28 along the opposite longitudinal side edges, 18 and 20, and positionedin the crotch region 16 of the absorbent article 10, 110. The legelastic members 60, 62 can be parallel to the longitudinal axis 29 asshown in FIGS. 2 and 7 or can be curved as is known in the art. The legelastic members 60, 62 can provide elasticized leg cuffs.

Additional details regarding each of these elements of the absorbentarticle 10, 110 described herein can be found below and with referenceto the FIGS. 1 through 9 .

Outer Cover:

The outer cover 26 and/or portions thereof can be breathable and/orliquid impermeable. The outer cover 26 and/or portions thereof can beelastic, stretchable, or non-stretchable. The outer cover 26 may beconstructed of a single layer, multiple layers, laminates, spunbondfabrics, films, meltblown fabrics, elastic netting, microporous webs,bonded-carded webs or foams provided by elastomeric or polymericmaterials. In an embodiment, for example, the outer cover 26 can beconstructed of a microporous polymeric film, such as polyethylene orpolypropylene.

In an embodiment, the outer cover 26 can be a single layer of a liquidimpermeable material, such as a polymeric film. In an embodiment, theouter cover 26 can be suitably stretchable, and more suitably elastic,in at least the lateral direction 32 of the absorbent article 10, 110.In an embodiment, the outer cover 26 can be stretchable, and moresuitably elastic, in both the lateral 32 and the longitudinal 30directions. In an embodiment, the outer cover 26 can be a multi-layeredlaminate in which at least one of the layers is liquid impermeable. Insome embodiments, the outer cover 26 can be a two layer construction,including an outer layer (not shown) and an inner layer (not shown)which can be bonded together such as by a laminate adhesive. Suitablelaminate adhesives can be applied continuously or intermittently asbeads, a spray, parallel swirls, or the like, but it is to be understoodthat the inner layer can be bonded to the outer layer by other bondingmethods, including, but not limited to, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds,pressure bonds, or the like.

The outer layer of the outer cover 26 can be any suitable material andmay be one that provides a generally cloth-like texture or appearance tothe wearer. An example of such material can be a 100% polypropylenebonded-carded web with a diamond bond pattern available from SandlerA.G., Germany, such as 30 gsm Sawabond 4185® or equivalent. Anotherexample of material suitable for use as an outer layer of an outer cover26 can be a 20 gsm spunbond polypropylene non-woven web. The outer layermay also be constructed of the same materials from which the bodysideliner 28 can be constructed as described herein.

The liquid impermeable inner layer of the outer cover 26 (or the liquidimpermeable outer cover 26 where the outer cover 26 is of a single-layerconstruction) can be either vapor permeable (i.e., “breathable”) orvapor impermeable. The liquid impermeable inner layer (or the liquidimpermeable outer cover 26 where the outer cover 26 is of a single-layerconstruction) can be manufactured from a thin plastic film. The liquidimpermeable inner layer (or the liquid impermeable outer cover 26 wherethe outer cover 26 is of a single-layer construction) can inhibit liquidbody exudates from leaking out of the absorbent article 10, 110 andwetting articles, such as bed sheets and clothing, as well as the wearerand caregiver.

In some embodiments, where the outer cover 26 is of a single layerconstruction, it can be embossed and/or matte finished to provide a morecloth-like texture or appearance. The outer cover 26 can permit vaporsto escape from the absorbent article 10, 110 while preventing liquidsfrom passing through. A suitable liquid impermeable, vapor permeablematerial can be composed of a microporous polymer film or a non-wovenmaterial which has been coated or otherwise treated to impart a desiredlevel of liquid impermeability.

Absorbent Body:

The absorbent body 34 can be suitably constructed to be generallycompressible, conformable, pliable, non-irritating to the wearer's skinand capable of absorbing and retaining liquid body exudates. Theabsorbent body 34 can be manufactured in a wide variety of sizes andshapes (for example, rectangular, trapezoidal, T-shape, I-shape,hourglass shape, etc.) and from a wide variety of materials. The sizeand the absorbent capacity of the absorbent body 34 should be compatiblewith the size of the intended wearer (infants to adults) and the liquidloading imparted by the intended use of the absorbent article 10, 110.The absorbent body 34 can have a length and width that can be less thanor equal to the length and width of the absorbent article 10, 110.

In an embodiment, the absorbent body 34 can be composed of a webmaterial of hydrophilic fibers, cellulosic fibers (e.g., wood pulpfibers), natural fibers, synthetic fibers, woven or nonwoven sheets,scrim netting or other stabilizing structures, superabsorbent material,binder materials, surfactants, selected hydrophobic and hydrophilicmaterials, pigments, lotions, odor control agents or the like, as wellas combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the absorbent body 34 can bea matrix of cellulosic fluff and superabsorbent material. In anembodiment, the absorbent body 34 may be constructed of a single layerof materials, or in the alternative, may be constructed of two or morelayers of materials.

Various types of wettable, hydrophilic fibers can be used in theabsorbent body 34. Examples of suitable fibers include natural fibers,cellulosic fibers, synthetic fibers composed of cellulose or cellulosederivatives, such as rayon fibers; inorganic fibers composed of aninherently wettable material, such as glass fibers; synthetic fibersmade from inherently wettable thermoplastic polymers, such as particularpolyester or polyamide fibers, or composed of nonwettable thermoplasticpolymers, such as polyolefin fibers which have been hydrophilized bysuitable means. The fibers may be hydrophilized, for example, bytreatment with a surfactant, treatment with silica, treatment with amaterial which has a suitable hydrophilic moiety and is not readilyremoved from the fiber, or by sheathing the nonwettable, hydrophobicfiber with a hydrophilic polymer during or after formation of the fiber.Suitable superabsorbent materials can be selected from natural,synthetic, and modified natural polymers and materials. Thesuperabsorbent materials can be inorganic materials, such as silicagels, or organic compounds, such as cross-linked polymers. In anembodiment, the absorbent body 34 can be free of superabsorbentmaterial.

If a spacer layer is present, the absorbent body 34 can be disposed onthe spacer layer and superposed over the outer cover 26. The spacerlayer can be bonded to the outer cover 26, for example, by adhesive. Insome embodiments, a spacer layer may not be present and the absorbentbody 34 can directly contact the outer cover 26 and can be directlybonded to the outer cover 26. However, it is to be understood that theabsorbent body 34 may be in contact with, and not bonded with, the outercover 26 and remain within the scope of this disclosure. In anembodiment, the outer cover 26 can be composed of a single layer and theabsorbent body 34 can be in contact with the singer layer of the outercover 26. In some embodiments, at least a portion of a layer, such asbut not limited to, a fluid transfer layer and/or a spacer layer, can bepositioned between the absorbent body 34 and the outer cover 26. Theabsorbent body 34 can be bonded to the fluid transfer layer and/or thespacer layer.

Bodyside Liner:

The bodyside liner 28 of the absorbent article 10, 110 can overlay theabsorbent body 34 and the outer cover 26 and can isolate the wearer'sskin from liquid waste retained by the absorbent body 34. In variousembodiments, a fluid transfer layer can be positioned between thebodyside liner 28 and the absorbent body 34. In various embodiments, anacquisition layer (not shown) can be positioned between the bodysideliner 28 and the absorbent body 34 or a fluid transfer layer, ifpresent. In various embodiments, the bodyside liner 28 can be bonded tothe acquisition layer, or to the fluid transfer layer if no acquisitionlayer is present, via adhesive and/or by a point fusion bonding. Thepoint fusion bonding may be selected from ultrasonic, thermal, pressurebonding, and combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the bodyside liner 28 can extend beyond the absorbentbody 34 and/or a fluid transfer layer, if present, and/or an acquisitionlayer, if present, and/or a spacer layer, if present, to overlay aportion of the outer cover 26 and can be bonded thereto by any methoddeemed suitable, such as, for example, by being bonded thereto byadhesive, to substantially enclose the absorbent body 34 between theouter cover 26 and the bodyside liner 28. The bodyside liner 28 may benarrower than the outer cover 26. However, in other embodiments, thebodyside liner 28 and the outer cover 26 may be of the same dimensionsin width and length. In other embodiments, the bodyside liner 28 can beof greater width than the outer cover 26. It is also contemplated thatthe bodyside liner 28 may not extend beyond the absorbent body 34 and/ormay not be secured to the outer cover 26. In some embodiments, thebodyside liner 28 can wrap at least a portion of the absorbent body 34,including wrapping around both longitudinal edges 36, 38 of theabsorbent body 34, and/or one or more of the end edges 40, 42. It isfurther contemplated that the bodyside liner 28 may be composed of morethan one segment of material. The bodyside liner 28 can be of differentshapes, including rectangular, hourglass, or any other shape. Thebodyside liner 28 can be suitably compliant, soft feeling, andnon-irritating to the wearer's skin and can be the same as or lesshydrophilic than the absorbent body 34 to permit body exudates toreadily penetrate through to the absorbent body 34 and provide arelatively dry surface to the wearer.

The bodyside liner 28 can be manufactured from a wide selection ofmaterials, such as synthetic fibers (for example, polyester orpolypropylene fibers), natural fibers (for example, wood or cottonfibers), a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, porous foams,reticulated foams, apertured plastic films, or the like. Examples ofsuitable materials include, but are not limited to, rayon, wood, cotton,polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, or other heat-bondablefibers, polyolefins, such as, but not limited to, copolymers ofpolypropylene and polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, andaliphatic esters such as polylactic acid, finely perforated film webs,net materials, and the like, as well as combinations thereof.

Various woven and non-woven fabrics can be used for the bodyside liner28. The bodyside liner 28 can include a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric,a polymer film, a film-fabric laminate or the like, as well ascombinations thereof. Examples of a nonwoven fabric can include spunbondfabric, meltblown fabric, coform fabric, carded web, bonded-carded web,bicomponent spunbond fabric, spunlace, or the like, as well ascombinations thereof. The bodyside liner 28 need not be a unitary layerstructure, and thus, can include more than one layer of fabrics, films,and/or webs, as well as combinations thereof. For example, the bodysideliner 28 can include a support layer and a projection layer that can behydroentagled. The projection layer can include hollow projections, suchas those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2014/0121623 invented by Kirby, Scott S. C. et al.

For example, the bodyside liner 28 can be composed of a meltblown orspunbond web of polyolefin fibers. Alternatively, the bodyside liner 28can be a bonded-carded web composed of natural and/or synthetic fibers.The bodyside liner 28 can be composed of a substantially hydrophobicmaterial, and the hydrophobic material can, optionally, be treated witha surfactant or otherwise processed to impart a desired level ofwettability and hydrophilicity. The surfactant can be applied by anyconventional means, such as spraying, printing, brush coating or thelike. The surfactant can be applied to the entire bodyside liner 28 orit can be selectively applied to particular sections of the bodysideliner 28.

In an embodiment, a bodyside liner 28 can be constructed of a non-wovenbicomponent web. The non-woven bicomponent web can be a spunbondedbicomponent web, or a bonded-carded bicomponent web. An example of abicomponent staple fiber includes a polyethylene/polypropylenebicomponent fiber. In this particular bicomponent fiber, thepolypropylene forms the core and the polyethylene forms the sheath ofthe fiber. Fibers having other orientations, such as multi-lobe,side-by-side, end-to-end may be used without departing from the scope ofthis disclosure. In an embodiment, a bodyside liner 28 can be a spunbondsubstrate with a basis weight from about 10 or 12 to about 15 or 20 gsm.In an embodiment, a bodyside liner 28 can be a 12 gsmspunbond-meltblown-spunbond substrate having 10% meltblown contentapplied between the two spunbond layers.

Although the outer cover 26 and bodyside liner 28 can includeelastomeric materials, it is contemplated that the outer cover 26 andthe bodyside liner 28 can be composed of materials which are generallynon-elastomeric. In an embodiment, the bodyside liner 28 can bestretchable, and more suitably elastic. In an embodiment, the bodysideliner 28 can be suitably stretchable and more suitably elastic in atleast the lateral or circumferential direction of the absorbent article10, 110. In other aspects, the bodyside liner 28 can be stretchable, andmore suitably elastic, in both the lateral and the longitudinaldirections 32, 30, respectively.

Containment Flaps:

In an embodiment, the absorbent article 10, 110 can include a pair ofcontainment flaps 50, 52. The containment flaps 50, 52 can be formedseparately from the absorbent chassis 11 and attached to the chassis 11or can be formed integral to the chassis 11. In some embodiments, thecontainment flaps 50, 52 can be secured to the chassis 11 of theabsorbent article 10, 110 in a generally parallel, spaced relation witheach other laterally inward of the leg openings to provide a barrieragainst the flow of body exudates. One containment flap 50 can be on afirst side of the longitudinal axis 29 and the other containment flap 52can be on a second side of the longitudinal axis 29. In an embodiment,the containment flaps 50, 52 can extend generally in a longitudinaldirection 30 from the front waist region 12 of the absorbent article 10,110, through the crotch region 16 to the rear waist region 14 of theabsorbent article 10. In some embodiments, the containment flaps 50, 52can extend in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinalaxis 29 of the absorbent article 10, 110, however, in other embodiments,the containment flaps 50, 52 can be curved, as is known in the art. Inother embodiments, such as the absorbent article 110 in FIGS. 6 and 7 ,the containment flaps 50, 52 can be disposed on the absorbent panel 17in the crotch region 16.

In embodiments where the containment flaps 50, 52 are coupled to thechassis 11, the containment flaps 50, 52 can be bonded to the bodysideliner 28, the outer cover 26, or another layer, such as a spacer layer,if present, with a barrier adhesive, as is known in the art. Of course,the containment flaps 50, 52 can be bonded to other components of thechassis 11 and can be bonded with other suitable means other than abarrier adhesive. For example, the containment flaps 50, 52 can bebonded to the bodyside liner 28, the outer cover 26, or another layerwith pressure bonding, thermal bonding, or ultrasonic bonding. Thecontainment flaps 50, 52 can be constructed of a fibrous material whichcan be similar to the material forming the bodyside liner 28. Otherconventional materials, such as polymer films, can also be employed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7 , the containment flaps 50, 52 can eachinclude a base portion 64 and a projection portion 66. The base portion64 can be bonded to the chassis 11, for example, to the bodyside liner28 or the outer cover 26 as mentioned above. The base portion 64 caninclude a proximal end 64 a and a distal end 64 b. The projectionportion 66 can be separated from the base portion 64 at the proximal end64 a of the base portion 64. As used in this context, the projectionportion 66 is separated from the base portion 64 at the proximal end 64a of the base portion 64 in that the proximal end 64 a of the baseportion 64 defines a transition between the projection portion 66 andthe base portion 64. The proximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 can belocated where the respective containment flap 50, 52 is bonded to thechassis 11 at the most laterally inward location. For example, if abarrier adhesive bonds the base portion 64 to the bodyside liner 28,then the proximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of each containmentflap 50, 52 can be located adjacent the barrier adhesive. In someembodiments, the distal ends 64 b of the base portion 64 can laterallyextend to the respective longitudinal side edges 18, 20 of the absorbentarticle 10, 110. In other embodiments, the distal ends 64 b of the baseportion 64 can end laterally inward of the respective longitudinal sideedges 18, 20 of the absorbent article 10, 110. The containment flaps 50,52 can also each include a projection portion 66 that is configured toextend away from the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 at leastin the crotch region 16 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is in arelaxed configuration, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5F. As shown in FIGS.2 and 7 , the containment flaps 50, 52 can include a tack-down region 71in either or both of the front waist region 12 and the rear waist region14 where the projection portion 66 is coupled to the body facing surface19 of the chassis 11.

It is contemplated that the containment flaps 50, 52 can be of variousconfigurations and shapes, and can be constructed by various methods.For example, the containment flaps 50, 52 of FIGS. 2-5F and 7 depict avertical containment flap 50, 52 with a tack-down region 71 in both thefront and rear waist regions 12, 14 where the projection portion 66 ofeach containment flap 50, 52 is tacked down to the bodyside liner 28towards the longitudinal axis 29 of the absorbent article 10. However,it is contemplated that the containment flaps 50, 52 can include atack-down region 71 where the projection portion 66 of each of thecontainment flaps 50, 52 is folded back upon itself and coupled toitself and the bodyside liner 28 in a “C-shape” configuration, as isknown in the art and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,382 to Robert L.Popp et al. As yet another alternative, it is contemplated that thecontainment flaps 50, 52 could be constructed in a “T-shape”configuration, such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/900,134 by Robert L. Popp et al., which published as U.S. PatentApplication Publication 2014/0350504. Such a configuration can alsoinclude a tack-down region 71 in either or both of the front and rearwaist regions 12, 14, respectively. Of course, other configurations ofcontainment flaps 50, 52 can be used in the absorbent article 10, 110and still remain within the scope of this disclosure.

The containment flaps 50, 52 can include one or more flap elasticmembers 68, such as the two flap elastic strands depicted in FIG. 2(omitted in FIG. 7 for purposes of clarity). Suitable elastic materialsfor the flap elastic members 68 can include sheets, strands or ribbonsof natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or thermoplastic elastomericmaterials. Of course, while two elastic members 68 are shown in eachcontainment flap 50, 52, it is contemplated that the containment flaps50, 52 can be configured with one or three or more elastic members 68.Alternatively or additionally, the containment flaps 50, 52 can becomposed of a material exhibiting elastic properties itself.

The flap elastic members 68, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , can have twostrands of elastomeric material extending longitudinally in theprojection portion 66 of the containment flaps 50, 52, in generallyparallel, spaced relation with each other. The flap elastic members 68can be within the containment flaps 50, 52 while in an elasticallycontractible condition such that contraction of the strands gathers andshortens the projection portions 66 of the containment flaps 50, 52 inthe longitudinal direction 30. As a result, the elastic members 68 canbias the projection portions 66 of the containment flaps 50, 52 toextend away from the body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44in a generally upright orientation of the containment flaps 50, 52,especially in the crotch region 16 of the absorbent article 10, 110,when the absorbent article 10 is in a relaxed configuration. Such anupright orientation of the projection portion 66 of containment flap 50is illustrated in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 5A-5F, where theabsorbent article 10 is in a relaxed configuration.

During manufacture of the containment flaps 50, 52 at least a portion ofthe elastic members 68 can be bonded to the containment flaps 50, 52while the elastic members 68 are elongated. The percent elongation ofthe elastic members 68 can be, for example, about 110% to about 350%. Inone embodiment, the elastic members 68 can be coated with adhesive whileelongated to a specified length prior to attaching to the elasticmembers 68 to the containment flaps 50, 52. In a stretched condition,the length of the elastic members 68 which have adhesive coupled theretocan provide an active flap elastic region 70 in the containment flaps50, 52, as labeled in FIG. 2 (omitted in FIG. 7 for purposes ofclarity), which will gather upon relaxation of the absorbent article 10,110. The active flap elastic region 70 of containment flaps 50, 52 canbe of a longitudinal length that is less than the length of theabsorbent article 10, 110. In this exemplary method of bonding theelastic members 68 to the containment flaps 50, 52, the portion of theelastic members 68 not coated with adhesive, will retract after theelastic members 68 and the absorbent article 10 are cut in manufacturingto form an individual absorbent article 10, 110. As noted above, therelaxing of the elastic members 68 in the active flap elastic region 70when the absorbent article 10, 110 is in a relaxed condition can causeeach containment flap 50, 52 to gather and cause the projection portion66 of each containment flap 50, 52 to extend away from the body facingsurface 19 of the chassis 11 (e.g., the body facing surface 45 of theabsorbent assembly 44 or the body facing surface 56 of the bodysideliner 28), as depicted in FIGS. 5A-5F.

Of course, the elastic members 68 can be bonded to the containment flaps50, 52 in various other ways as known by those of skill in the art toprovide an active flap elastic region 70, which is within the scope ofthis disclosure. Additionally, the active flap elastic regions 70 can beshorter or longer than depicted herein, including extending to the frontwaist edge 22 and the rear waist edge 24, and still be within the scopeof this disclosure.

Leg Elastics:

Leg elastic members 60, 62 can be secured to the outer cover 26, such asby being bonded thereto by laminate adhesive, generally laterally inwardof the longitudinal side edges, 18 and 20, of the absorbent article 10,110. The leg elastic members 60, 62 can form elasticized leg cuffs thatfurther help to contain body exudates. In an embodiment, the leg elasticmembers 60, 62 may be disposed between inner and outer layers (notshown) of the outer cover 26 or between other layers of the absorbentarticle 10, for example, between the base portion 64 of each containmentflap 50, 52 and the bodyside liner 28, between the base portion 64 ofeach containment flap 50, 52 and the outer cover 26, or between thebodyside liner 28 and the outer cover 26. The leg elastic members 60, 62can be one or more elastic components near each longitudinal side edge18, 20. For example, the leg elastic members 60, 62 as illustratedherein in FIGS. 2 and 7 each include two elastic strands. A wide varietyof elastic materials may be used for the leg elastic members 60, 62.Suitable elastic materials can include sheets, strands or ribbons ofnatural rubber, synthetic rubber, or thermoplastic elastomericmaterials. The elastic materials can be stretched and secured to asubstrate, secured to a gathered substrate, or secured to a substrateand then elasticized or shrunk, for example, with the application ofheat, such that the elastic retractive forces are imparted to thesubstrate. Additionally, it is contemplated that the leg elastic members60, 62 can be formed with the containment flaps 50, 52, and thenattached to the chassis 11 in some embodiments. Of course, the legelastic members 60, 62 can be omitted from the absorbent article 10, 110without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Waist Containment Member:

In an embodiment, the absorbent article 10, 110 can have one or morewaist containment members 54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554. FIGS. 1-5Aillustrate a preferred embodiment of a waist containment member 54 on anabsorbent article 10, such as a diaper, and FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate apreferred embodiment of a waist containment member 54 on an absorbentarticle 110, such as a pant. FIGS. 5B-5F illustrate cross-sectionalviews of alternative embodiments of a waist containment member 154, 254,354, 454, 554, respectively, that can be employed as an alternative toor in addition to the waist containment members 54 depicted on theabsorbent articles 10, 110 of FIGS. 2 and 7 . Because many of thefeatures of the waist containment members 54, 154, 254, 354, 454, and554 are similar, the discussion below addressing waist containmentmember 54 of FIGS. 1-5A applies to the alternative waist containmentmembers 154, 254, 354, 554, unless otherwise noted. The unique featuresto waist containment members 154, 254, 354, 454, and 554 will bediscussed in their own right with respect to FIGS. 5B-5F, respectively.

The waist containment member 54 can be disposed in the rear waist region14. As will be discussed in more detail below, the waist containmentmember 54 can help contain and/or absorb body exudates, especially lowviscosity fecal matter, and as such, can be preferred to be in the rearwaist region 14. In some embodiments, the absorbent article 10, 110 canhave a waist containment member 54 disposed in the front waist region12. A waist containment member 54 in the front waist region 12 can helpcontain and/or absorb body exudates, such as urine, in the front waistregion 12. Although not as prevalent as in the rear waist region 14, insome circumstances, fecal material may also spread to the front waistregion 12, and thus, a waist containment member 54 disposed in the frontwaist region 12 can help contain and/or absorb body exudates as well. Inother embodiments, the absorbent article 10, 110 can have a waistcontainment member 54 in both the rear waist region 14 and the frontwaist region 12.

The waist containment member 54 can be disposed on the body facingsurface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44. In some embodiments, such as inembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1-5F, the waist containment member 54can be disposed on the body facing surface 56 of the bodyside liner 28.However, in some embodiments, such as the absorbent article 110 in FIG.7 , the waist containment member 54 can be disposed on a body facingsurface 58 of the rear waist panel 15.

The waist containment member 54 can include a first longitudinal sideedge 72 and a second longitudinal side edge 74. The first longitudinalside edge 72 can be opposite from the second longitudinal side edge 74.The distance between the first longitudinal side edge 72 and the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 can define a width 51 of the waist containmentmember 54 in the lateral direction 32, as shown in FIG. 2 . Although notdepicted, in some embodiments, the first longitudinal side edge 72 cansubstantially align with the first longitudinal side edge 18 of theabsorbent article 10, 110. Similarly, in some embodiments, the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 can align with the second longitudinal sideedge 20 of the absorbent article 10, 110. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and7 , the waist containment member 54 can be configured such that thefirst longitudinal side edge 72 can be disposed laterally outward of theproximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of the containment flap 50.Similarly, the waist containment member 54 can be configured such thatthe second longitudinal side edge 74 can be disposed laterally outwardof the proximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of the containment flap52. The waist containment member 54 can also include an upper lateraledge 75 and a lower lateral edge 88. The first longitudinal side edge72, the second longitudinal side edge 74, the upper lateral edge 75, andthe lower lateral edge 88 are defined when the absorbent article 10, 110is in the stretched, laid-flat configuration, such as illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 7 .

In some embodiments, the width 51 of the waist containment member 54 inthe lateral direction 32 as compared to the width 53 of the chassis 11(as labeled in FIG. 2 ) can have a ratio of about 0.85 to about 1.00. Insome embodiments, the width 51 of the waist containment member 54 in thelateral direction 32 as compared to the width 53 of the chassis 11 canhave a ratio of about 0.87 to about 1.00. And in other embodiments, thewidth 51 of the waist containment member 54 in the lateral direction 32as compared to the width 53 of the chassis 11 can have a ratio of about0.90 to about 1.00. For purposes herein, the width 53 of the chassis 11for use in this ratio is the width of the chassis 11 in the waist regionin which the waist containment member 54 is disposed and both widthmeasurements are taken in a direction parallel to the lateral direction32. Thus, for the examples illustrated herein, the width 51 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be compared to the width 53 of the chassis 11in the rear waist region 14. Additionally, the width 51 of the waistcontainment member 54 in the lateral direction 32 and the width 53 ofthe chassis 11 as discussed for the ratios herein are to be measuredwhen the absorbent article 10, 110 is in the stretched, laid flatconfiguration.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 4-5F, the waist containment member 54 canalso include a proximal portion 76 and a distal portion 78. The waistcontainment member 54 can also include an intermediate portion 77. Theproximal portion 76 can be coupled to the body facing surface 19 ofchassis 11 (e.g., the body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly44 or the body facing surface 56 of the bodyside liner 28). Theintermediate portion 77 can be disposed between the proximal portion 76and the distal portion 78. The intermediate portion 77 can be free tomove independent of the proximal portion 76 and the distal portion 78and can be free to move independent of the body facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 to provide a containment pocket 82 for containing bodyexudates. In some embodiments, the distal portion 78 can be disposedunderneath the intermediate portion 77 when the absorbent article 10 isdisposed in the stretched, laid-flat configuration (such as shown in thecross-sectional view in FIG. 4 ).

As illustrated in FIGS. 4-5E, a fold 79 a can separate the proximalportion 76 from the intermediate portion 77. As used in this context,the fold 79 a separates the proximal portion 76 from the intermediateportion 77 in that the fold 79 a defines a transition between theproximal portion 76 and the intermediate portion 77. The fold 79 a candefine the upper lateral edge 75 of the waist containment member 54 whenthe absorbent article 10, 110 is in the stretched, laid-flatconfiguration. A fold 79 b can separate the intermediate portion 77 fromthe distal portion 78. As used in this context, the fold 79 b separatesthe intermediate portion 77 from the distal portion 78 in that the fold79 b defines a transition between the intermediate portion 77 and thedistal portion 78. The fold 79 b can define the lower lateral edge 88 ofthe waist containment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is inthe stretched, laid-flat configuration. Folds 79 a and 79 b can becreated in the method 610 of manufacturing the absorbent article 10, 110including the waist containment member 54, as will be discussed infurther detail below.

The proximal portion 76 can be coupled to the body facing surface 19 ofthe chassis 11 with an adhesive 80, and in some embodiments, theproximal portion 76 can be coupled to the body facing surface 45 of theabsorbent assembly 44. In some embodiments, such as in embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 2-5F, the proximal portion 76 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be coupled to the body facing surface 56 ofthe bodyside liner 28. However, in some embodiments, such as theabsorbent article 110 in FIG. 7 , the proximal portion 76 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be coupled to the body facing surface 58 ofthe rear waist panel 15. The proximal portion 76 can be coupled to thebody facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44 with adhesive 80along the entire length of the proximal portion 76 in the longitudinaldirection 30, however, it is contemplated that only a portion of theproximal portion 76 in the longitudinal direction 30 can be coupled tothe body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44. Of course, itis contemplated that the proximal portion 76 of the waist containmentmember 54 can be coupled to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11or the body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44 by meansother than an adhesive 80, such as by pressure bonding, ultrasonicbonding, thermal bonding, and combinations thereof. In preferredembodiments, the proximal portion 76 is coupled to the body facingsurface 19 of the chassis 11 in the lateral direction 32 in a constantfashion, as opposed to an intermittent fashion, such that a longitudinalbarrier to body exudates is formed between the proximal portion 76 andthe body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11.

In some embodiments, the proximal portion 76 of the waist containmentmember 54 can include a longitudinal length measured in the longitudinaldirection 30 that is shorter than a longitudinal length of the distalportion 78 of the waist containment member 54. As illustrated in theembodiment depicted in FIGS. 4-5F, the proximal portion 76 of the waistcontainment member 54 can include a longitudinal length measured in thelongitudinal direction 30 that is shorter than a longitudinal length ofthe intermediate portion 77 and the longitudinal length of the distalportion 78 of the waist containment member 54 combined. However in someembodiments, the longitudinal length of the proximal portion 76 can besubstantially equal to or larger than the longitudinal length of theintermediate portion 77 and the longitudinal length of the distalportion 78 of the waist containment member 54. For purposes herein, thelongitudinal length of the proximal portion 76, the longitudinal lengthof the intermediate portion 77, and the longitudinal length of thedistal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 are measured whenthe absorbent article 10, 110 is in the stretched, laid flatconfiguration.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , because the intermediate portion 77 of thewaist containment member 54 can freely move independent of the proximalportion 76 and the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 when theabsorbent article 10, 110 is in the relaxed configuration, theintermediate portion 77 can help provide a containment pocket 82 whenthe absorbent article 10, 110 is in the relaxed configuration. Thecontainment pocket 82 can help provide a barrier to contain and/or canhelp absorb body exudates. The containment pocket 82 can be especiallybeneficial for containing and/or absorbing low viscosity fecal matter,which can be prevalent in younger children. As previously noted, thefirst longitudinal side edge 72 can be disposed laterally outward of theproximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of the containment flap 50, andthus, the containment pocket 82 can extend laterally outward of theproximal end 64 a of the containment flap 50. Similarly, the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 can be disposed laterally outward of theproximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of the containment flap 52 andthe containment pocket 82 can extend laterally outward of the proximalend 64 a of the containment flap 52. Such a configuration provides waistcontainment member 54 with a wide containment pocket 82 to containand/or absorb body exudates.

Once exudates enter the containment pocket 82 provided by the waistcontainment member 54, the waist containment member 54 can be configuredto help retain the body exudates within the pocket 82. For example, insome embodiments, the waist containment member 54 can include a firstlongitudinal tack-down region 84 a and a second longitudinal tack-downregion 84 b. The waist containment member 54 can additionally oralternatively include a first lateral tack-down region 83 a and a secondlateral tack-down region 83 b, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7 .

The first and second longitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b can helpprevent lateral flow of body exudates that enter the containment pocket82 of the waist containment member 54. The longitudinal tack-downregions 84 a, 84 b can be formed by coupling the intermediate portion 77to the proximal portion 76 of the waist containment member 54 and/or thebody facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 and/or the distal portion 78 ofthe waist containment member 54 and by coupling the distal portion 78 ofthe waist containment member to the body facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 near the first and second longitudinal side edges 72, 74,respectively, of the waist containment member 54. For example, FIGS. 2,4, and 7 illustrate several short, transverse lines of adhesive 81 a, 81b along the longitudinal side edges 72, 74 that can help provide for thelongitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b. As best illustrated in thecross-sectional view of FIG. 4 , the adhesive 81 b can couple the distalportion 78 to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11. The adhesive81 a can couple the intermediate portion 77 of the waist containmentmember 54 to the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54and/or to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 and/or to theproximal portion 76 of the waist containment member 54. Although thelines of adhesive 81 a are shown as intermittent in the longitudinaldirection 30 near each of the longitudinal side edges 72, 74 in that theadhesive 81 a does not extend continuously from the lower lateral edge88 to the upper lateral edge 75 of the waist containment member 54, itis contemplated that the adhesive 81 a could be in a continuous fashionin the longitudinal direction 30. Additionally, it is contemplated thatthe longitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b could be provided by othermeans of bonding other than adhesives 81 a, 81 b, including pressurebonding, thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, and combinations thereof.

The first lateral tack-down region 83 a and the second lateral tack-downregion 83 b can help prevent the longitudinal flow of body exudates thatthat enter the containment pocket 82 of the waist containment member 54.The first lateral tack-down region 83 a and the second lateral tack-downregion 83 b can also help form part of the first and second longitudinaltack-down regions 84 a, 84 b, respectively. The first lateral tack-downregion 83 a can include the distal portion 78 of the waist containmentmember 54 being coupled to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11from the first longitudinal side edge 72 towards the lateral axis 29 ofthe absorbent article 10, 110. In preferred embodiments that includecontainment flaps 50, 52, the first lateral tack-down region 83 a caninclude the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 beingcoupled to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 from the firstlongitudinal side edge 72 towards the proximal end 64 a of the baseportion 64 of the containment flap 50. The second lateral tack-downregion 83 b can include the distal portion 78 of the waist containmentmember 54 being coupled to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11from the second longitudinal side edge 74 towards the lateral axis 29 ofthe absorbent article 10, 110. In preferred embodiments that includecontainment flaps 50, 52, the second lateral tack-down region 83 b caninclude the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 beingcoupled to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 from the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 towards the proximal end 64 a of the baseportion 64 of the containment flap 52.

In some embodiments, the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83a, 83 b can be configured such that the distal portion 78 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be coupled to the respective containment flaps50, 52. In some embodiments, the first lateral tack-down region 83 alaterally extends to at least the proximal end 64 a of the base portion64 of the containment flap 50, and more preferably, to the projectionportion 66 of the containment flap 50 (as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7). In some embodiments, the second lateral tack-down region 83 blaterally extends to at least the proximal end 64 a of the base portion64 of the containment flap 52, and more preferably, to the projectionportion 66 of the containment flap 52 (as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7). Thus, the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 can becoupled to the base portion 64 of each containment flap 50, 52.

The first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b can couple thedistal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 to the body facingsurface 19 of the chassis 11 with an adhesive as shown in FIGS. 2, 4,5A-5F, and 7 . However, it is contemplated that other method of couplingcould be used to form the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83a, 83 b, including pressure bonding, thermal bonding, ultrasonicbonding, and combinations thereof.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7 , the first and second lateral tack-downregions 83 a, 83 b do not extend across the entire width 51 of the waistcontainment member 54. Instead, a gap 89 is provided in the lateraldirection 32 between the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83a, 83 b. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the gap 89 can provide an entrancefor body exudates to enter the containment pocket 82 created by thewaist containment member 54. In some embodiments, the gap 89 between thefirst and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b can be equal tothe distance between the projection portions 66 of the containment flaps50, 52.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4, and 7 , the first lateral tack-down region83 a can be located away from the lower lateral edge 88 of the waistcontainment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is in thestretched, laid-flat configuration. Similarly, the second lateraltack-down region 83 b can be located away from the lower lateral edge 88of the waist containment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 isin the stretched, laid-flat configuration. In other words, the first andsecond lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b do not extend to the lowerlateral edge 88 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is in the stretched,laid-flat configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the first lateraltack-down region 83 a and the second lateral tack-down region 83 b aredisposed at least about 3.0 mm away from the lower lateral edge 88 ofthe waist containment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is inthe stretched, laid-flat configuration. In other embodiments, the firstand second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b can be located at leastabout 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, 14.0, 15.0,16.0, 17.0, 18.0, 19.0, 20.0, 21.0, 22.0, 23.0, 24.0, 25.0, 26.0, 27.0,28.0, 29.0, or 30.0 mm or more away from the lower lateral edge 88 ofthe waist containment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is inthe stretched, laid-flat configuration. Of course, it is contemplatedthat the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b can belocated a further distance away from the lower lateral edge 88 of thewaist containment member 54 than this exemplary range. By configuringthe first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b to be disposedaway from the lower lateral edge 88 of the waist containment member 54,the waist containment member 54 is able to provide more void volume nearthe longitudinal sides 72, 74 of the waist containment member 54 whenthe absorbent article 10, 110 is in the relaxed configuration asillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5A-5E.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, by locating the distal portion78 of the waist containment member 54 underneath the intermediateportion 77 and disposing the first and second lateral tack-down regions83 a, 83 b away from the lower lateral edge 88 of the waist containmentmember 54, some of the distal portion 78 as well as the intermediateportion 77 can extend away from the body-facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 (e.g., the body-facing surface 56 of the bodyside liner 28),when the absorbent article 10 is in the relaxed configuration, such aswhen the absorbent article 10 is placed on the wearer. In other words,by folding the distal portion 78 underneath the intermediate portion 77by fold 79 b, the waist containment member 54 is gathered in thelongitudinal direction 30 such that the waist containment member 54 canextend away from the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 to providea containment pocket 82 for containing exudates between the firstlateral tack-down region 83 a and the upper lateral edge 75 of the waistcontainment member 54 and between the second lateral tack-down regionand between the upper lateral edge 75 of the waist containment member54.

Another way to achieve the increased void volume of the containmentpocket 82 created by the waist containment member 554 is illustrated inthe alternative embodiment of FIG. 5F. The waist containment member 554of FIG. 5F is comprised of a single layer of material that wraps sevenelastic members 86 to form a laminate. Rather than folding the waistcontainment member 554 to provide a distal portion 78 that is disposedunderneath the intermediate portion 77 to gather the waist containmentmember 554 to provide void volume, the waist containment member 554 inFIG. 5F gathers, or scrunches, the material forming the waistcontainment member 554 in the longitudinal direction 30 without foldingthe distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 554 underneath theintermediate portion 77 of the waist containment member 554. Asillustrated in FIG. 5F, the waist containment member 554 can stillinclude lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b (83 b not shown), but thelateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b are preferably located at the lowerlateral edge 88 of the waist containment member 554, not away from thelower lateral edge 88 of the waist containment member 554 such asdescribed above with respect to the embodiments disclosed in FIGS.5A-5E. The material forming the waist containment member 554 can begathered as illustrated in FIG. 5F by mechanical gathering the materialbefore coupling it to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 or bystretching the material forming the waist containment member 554 in thelongitudinal direction 30 prior to coupling the waist containment member554 to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11. Either way, thewaist containment member 554 can create additional void volume for thecontainment pocket 82 without disposing the distal portion 78 of thewaist containment member 554 underneath the intermediate portion 77, asin other embodiments discussed herein.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5E, the waist containment member 54, 154,254, 354, 454, including a proximal portion 76, an intermediate portion77, and a distal portion 78 disposed underneath the intermediate portion77, can be formed in various configurations. For example, the waistcontainment members 54, 154, and 454 as illustrated in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and5E, respectively, can be formed from a single piece of material.Alternatively, the waist containment members 254, 354 as illustrated inFIGS. 5C and 5D, respectively, can be formed from more than one piece ofmaterial.

For example, the waist containment member 254 shown in FIG. 5C includesone piece of material forming the distal portion 78, with another pieceof material forming the intermediate portion 77 and the proximal portion76, the material forming the intermediate portion 77 being folded overupon itself to envelope elastic members 86. The two pieces of materialof the waist containment member 254 can be joined with an adhesive 87,such as near fold 79 b. As illustrated in FIG. 5D, waist containmentmember 354 includes two different pieces of material that overlap oneanother to form the intermediate portion 77 and laminate elastic members86. The two pieces of material in the waist containment member 354 canbe joined by adhesive (not shown) covering the elastic members 86 as isknown in the art. By having the waist containment member 254, 254 beformed from two different pieces of material, the different pieces ofmaterial can be configured to provide different properties according todesired functions. For example, in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.5C and 5D, the material forming the proximal portion 76 and theintermediate portion 77 can be selected to have properties of greatersoftness as compared to the material forming the distal portion 76,since the material forming the proximal portion 76 and the intermediateportion 77 can have more contact with the wearer's skin.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5E, the waist containmentmembers 54, 154, 254, 354, 454 all have an intermediate portion 77 thatis thicker than the proximal portion 76. Such a configuration providesthe benefit of reducing strike-through of body exudates from thecontainment pocket 82 through the material(s) forming the intermediateportion 77, yet reduces the amount of material(s) at the proximalportion 76 where such thickness is not necessary. For example, the waistcontainment members 54, 254, and 354 of FIGS. 5A, 5C, and 5D,respectively, have twice the thickness in the intermediate portion 77 ascompared to the thickness of the proximal portion 76. The waistcontainment members 154 and 454 of FIGS. 5B and 5E, respectively, havetriple the thickness as compared to the thickness of the proximalportion 76. The additional thickness in the intermediate portion 77 ascompared to the proximal portion 76 can also provide the benefit ofadditional softness of the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354,454 against the wearer's skin. Yet another benefit of additionalthickness in the intermediate portion 77 is increased opacity towardsthe containment pocket 82 formed by the waist containment member 54,154, 254, 354, 454, which can provide the desirable benefit of maskingthe presence of body exudates when the absorbent article 10, 110 isbeing changed by the wearer or a caregiver.

In preferred embodiments, and as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5A-5F, and 7 ,the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b of the waistcontainment members 54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554 can synergistically workwith the containment flaps 50, 52 to better guide and contain bodyexudates within the containment pocket 82. As previously noted, thefirst and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b preferably extendat least to the proximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of therespective containment flaps 50, 52, and more preferably, extend to theprojection portion 66 of the respective containment flaps 50, 52. Indoing so, the containment flaps 50, 52 can guide body exudates into thecontainment pocket 82, and the first and second lateral tack-downregions 83 a, 83 b can act as longitudinal barriers preventing the bodyexudates from escaping from the containment pocket 82 if and when thebody exudates disperse laterally outside of the projection portions 66of the containment flaps 50, 52 once within the containment pocket 82.

Additionally or alternatively, the tack-down regions 71 of thecontainment flaps 50, 52 can be configured to not extend to the lowerlateral edge 88 of the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354, 454,554, thus allowing the projection portion 66 of each of the containmentflaps 50, 52 to extend away from the body facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 and guide the body exudates longitudinally further into thecontainment pocket 82. By keeping the tack-down regions 71 away from thelower lateral edge 88 of the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354,454, 554, the active flap elastic region 70 of the containment flaps 50,52 can extend into the containment pocket 82, and more preferably, canextend to the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b, asillustrated in FIGS. 2, 5A, and 7 . In such configurations, the activeflap elastic region 70 of each containment flap 50, 52 can provide alifting force on the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354, 454,554 to help the waist containment member 54, 154, 254, 354, 454, 554extend away from the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 to providemore void volume and a more open containment pocket 82 for body exudatesto enter, and the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 bcan provide the longitudinal barrier to body exudates once the bodyexudates have entered the containment pocket 82.

In preferred embodiments, the waist containment member 54 can include atleast one elastic member 86. In some embodiments, such as theembodiments depicted in FIG. 5A, the waist containment member 54 caninclude multiple elastic members 86, such as eight elastic members 86(only one of the elastic members 86 is labeled in FIG. 5A for purposesof clarity). The waist containment members 154, 254, 354, 454, 554 ofFIGS. 5B-5F include multiple elastic members 86 (only one elastic member86 is labeled for purposes of clarity). Of course, it is contemplatedthat the waist containment member 54 can include other amounts ofelastic members 86 other than eight, and in some embodiments, need notinclude any elastic members 86. In some embodiments, the elastic members86 can be spaced evenly in the longitudinal direction 30 of the waistcontainment member 54. The elastic member 86 can span substantially fromthe first longitudinal side edge 72 to the second longitudinal side edge74 of the waist containment member 54. The elastic member 86 can bedisposed in the intermediate portion 77 of the waist containment member54 and be located near the lower lateral edge 88 of the waistcontainment member 54 when the absorbent article 10, 110 is in thestretched, laid-flat configuration. Additionally or alternatively, theelastic member 86 can be located in a distal portion 78 of the waistcontainment member 54, 454, 554, such as illustrated in FIGS. 5A, 5E,and 5F.

A wide variety of elastic materials may be used for the elasticmember(s) 86 in the waist containment member 54. Suitable elasticmaterials can include sheets, strands or ribbons of natural rubber,synthetic rubber, elastic foams, or thermoplastic elastomeric materials(e.g., films). The elastic materials can be stretched and secured to asubstrate forming the waist containment member 54, secured to a gatheredsubstrate, or secured to a substrate and then elasticized or shrunk, forexample, with the application of heat, such that the elastic retractiveforces are imparted to the substrate forming the waist containmentmember 54.

As depicted in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments the waist containment member54 can be disposed on the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 suchthat a gap 85 is provided between the second end edge 42 of theabsorbent body 34 and the lower lateral edge 88 of the waist containmentmember 54. By providing a gap 85, the containment pocket 82 can have agreater void volume for body exudates. Additionally, it is believed thatgap 85 can help body exudates enter the containment pocket 82 of thewaist containment member 54.

The waist containment member 54 can be comprised of a variety ofmaterials. In a preferred embodiment, the waist containment member 54can be comprised of a spunbond-meltblown-spunbond (“SMS”) material.However it is contemplated that the waist containment member 54 can becomprised of other materials including, but not limited to, aspunbond-film-spunbond (“SFS”), a bonded carded web (“BCW”), or anynon-woven material. In some embodiments, the waist containment member 54can be comprised of a laminate of more than one of these exemplarymaterials, or other materials. In some embodiments, the waistcontainment member 54 can be comprised of a liquid impermeable material.In some embodiments, the waist containment member 54 can be comprised ofa material coated with a hydrophobic coating. The basis weight of thematerial forming the waist containment member 54 can vary, however, in apreferred embodiment, the basis weight can be between about 8 gsm toabout 120 gsm, not including the elastic members 86 in the waistcontainment member 54. More preferably, the basis weight of the materialcomprising the waist containment member 54 can be between about 10 gsmto about 40 gsm, and even more preferably, between about 15 gsm to about25 gsm.

Fastening System:

In an embodiment, the absorbent article 10 can include a fasteningsystem. The fastening system can include one or more back fasteners 91and one or more front fasteners 92. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 1, 2,and 5 depict embodiments with one front fastener 92. Portions of thefastening system may be included in the front waist region 12, rearwaist region 14, or both.

The fastening system can be configured to secure the absorbent article10 about the waist of the wearer in a fastened condition as shown inFIG. 1 and help maintain the absorbent article 10 in place during use.In an embodiment, the back fasteners 91 can include one or morematerials bonded together to form a composite ear as is known in theart. For example, the composite fastener may be composed of a stretchcomponent 94, a nonwoven carrier or hook base 96, and a fasteningcomponent 98, as labeled in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 5B, in someembodiments the waist containment member 54 can extend to back fasteners91. In some embodiments, the waist containment member 54 can be coupledto the stretch component 94 of the back fasteners 91, either directly orindirectly. In some embodiments, the waist containment member 54 canextend to the longitudinal side edges 18, 20 of the absorbent article10.

Method of Manufacturing an Absorbent Article:

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 , an exemplary method 610 ofmanufacturing an absorbent article 10 with a waist containment member 54as depicted in FIGS. 1-5A will now be described. The method 610 caninclude providing a chassis 11, which can be in the form of a chassisweb 611. The chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611) can include an absorbentassembly 44. The absorbent assembly 44 can be in a discrete form of thechassis 11 for an absorbent article 10 as discussed above, or can beprovided in form of an absorbent assembly web 644 as part of a chassisweb 611. The absorbent assembly 44 (absorbent assembly web 644) caninclude a bodyside liner 28 and an outer cover 26, which can be in webform as a bodyside liner web 628 and an outer cover web 626 as well. Theabsorbent assembly web 644 can include a body facing surface 645.

The method 610 can include providing a pair of containment flaps 650,652, as are discussed above, and that can each include a base portion664 and a projection portion 666. The method 610 can also includebonding the base portion 664 of each of the containment flaps 650, 652to the body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly 44 (e.g., thebody facing surface 645 of the absorbent assembly web 644). In someembodiments, bonding the base portion 664 of each of the containmentflaps 650, 652 to the body facing surface 45 of the absorbent assembly44 can include bonding the base portion 664 of each of the containmentflaps 650, 652 to the bodyside liner 28 (e.g., bodyside liner web 628).In other embodiments, bonding the base portion 664 of each of thecontainment flaps 650, 652 to the body facing surface 45 of theabsorbent assembly 44 can include bonding the base portion 664 of eachof the containment flaps 650, 652 to the outer cover 26 (e.g., outercover web 626). As noted above, the base portion 664 of each of thecontainment flaps 650, 652 can include a proximal end 664 a and a distalend 664 b.

The method 610 can also include providing a continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654. The continuous web of waist containmentmember material 654 can be guided over one or more idlers 661, as areknown in the art. The continuous web of waist containment membermaterial 654 can be folded such that at least a portion 654 a of thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 is folded uponitself. Folding the continuous web of waist containment member material654 can provide a folded edge 679 b that, once the continuous web ofwaist containment member material 654 is cut to form a waist containmentmember 54, will separate the distal portion 78 of the waist containmentmember 54 from the intermediate portion 77 of the waist containmentmember 54 at fold 79 b, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-5A.With such a fold, the distal portion 78 can be folded against theintermediate portion 77. Folding the portion 654 a of the continuous webof waist containment member material 654 can be accomplished with afolding board 688 b, as is known in the art.

In some embodiments, the method 610 can also include folding a portion654 b of the continuous web of waist containment member material 654upon itself to provide a folded edge 679 a, that once the continuous webof waist containment member material 654 is cut to form a waistcontainment member 54, will separate the intermediate portion 77 of thewaist containment member 54 from the proximal portion 76 of the waistcontainment member 54 at fold 79 a, as discussed above with respect toFIGS. 1-5A. With such a fold, the proximal portion 76 can be foldedagainst the intermediate portion 77. Folding the portion 654 b of thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 can beaccomplished with a folding board 688 c, as is known in the art.

In some embodiments, the method 610 can also include folding a portion654 c of the continuous web of waist containment member material 654upon itself to cover elastic members 686 (as described below) and/or toform a greater thickness in the intermediate portion 77 of the waistcontainment member 54, which is formed once the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654 is cut. Folding the portion 654 c of thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 can beaccomplished with a folding board 688 a, as is known in the art. Asillustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 , in this preferred embodiment, portion 654c can be folded first by folding board 688 a, then portion 654 a can befolded by folding board 688 b, then portion 654 b can be folded byfolding board 688 c.

In some embodiments, the method 610 can further include providing anelastic member 86, which can be in the form of an elastic member web686. In some embodiments, more than one elastic member 86 can beprovided. For example, in some embodiments, eight elastic member webs686 can be provided. The elastic member web(s) 686 can be bonded to thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654. In oneembodiment, an adhesive station 699 a can apply an adhesive 687 (asshown in FIG. 9 ) to the elastic member web(s) 686 to bond the elasticmember web(s) 686 to the continuous web of waist containment membermaterial 654. The adhesive 687 can be applied in a spray fashion, or inany other suitable fashion. In some embodiments, the adhesive 687 couldbe applied to the continuous web of waist containment member material654 in addition to or in the place of applying the adhesive 687 to theelastic member web(s) 686. Folding a portion 654 c of the continuous webof waist containment member material 654 upon itself with folding board688 a can provide for wrapping the elastic member web(s) 686, asdiscussed above.

The method 610 can also include providing an intermittent adhesive 681 ato the continuous web of waist containment member material 654. In oneembodiment, the intermittent adhesive 681 a can be appliedintermittently to the continuous web of waist containment membermaterial 654 by pulsing multiple lines of adhesive 681 a with anadhesive station 699 b. As previously mentioned, it is contemplated thatthe intermittent adhesive 681 a could be applied as a singularcontinuous adhesive across the width of the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654, rather than in discrete segments asshown in FIG. 9 .

The method 610 can also include providing an intermittent adhesive 681 bto the continuous web of waist containment member material 654. Theintermittent adhesive 681 b can be applied to the folded portion 654 anear folded edge 679 b and can be applied by adhesive station 699 c.Along with intermittent adhesive 681 a, the intermittent adhesive 681 bcan help form the longitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b, aspreviously discussed with respect to FIGS. 2, 4, and 7 , once thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 is cut to form aweb containment member 54.

The method 610 can also include applying intermittent adhesive 683 tothe continuous web of waist containment member material 654. Theintermittent adhesive 683 can also be applied by adhesive station 699 c,or can be applied by its own adhesive station. Importantly, the adhesive683 can be applied away from the folded edge 679 b of the continuous webof the waist containment member material 654, which once the continuousweb of waist containment member material 654 is cut and applied to thechassis 11 to form a waist containment member 54, the adhesive 683 willform the lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b of the waist containmentmember 54. In other words, the adhesive 683 does not extend to thefolded edge 679 b of the continuous web of the waist containment membermaterial 654. It can also be seen that the intermittent adhesive 683 canbe applied for a longer length than the intermittent adhesives 681 a,681 b. Because the intermittent adhesive 683 can be applied to thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 such that oncethe continuous web of waist containment member material 654 is cut theintermittent adhesive 683 will be near the longitudinal side edges 72,74 of the waist containment member 54, the adhesive 683 can also helpform the longitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b along with theintermittent adhesives 681 a, 681 b discussed above.

It is contemplated that one or more of the adhesives 681 a, 681 b, and683 could be substituted for other bonding methods to bond therespective portions of the waist containment member 54 to the chassis11. For example, it is contemplated that the intermittent adhesive 681 aand 681 b could be substituted with a bonding unit that wouldintermittently bond the continuous web of waist containment membermaterial 654 to itself and to the chassis 11 to form the longitudinaltack-down regions 84 a, 84 b discussed above. Furthermore, it is alsocontemplated that the lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b could beformed by bonding the waist containment member 54 to the chassis 11 asdescribed above via pressure bonding, thermal bonding, ultrasonicbonding, other combinations thereof, after the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654 is cut to form the waist containmentmember 54 and is applied to the chassis 11.

In some embodiments, the method 610 can further include applying anadhesive 680 to the continuous web of waist containment member material654. Adhesive 680 can be applied via adhesive station 699 d and can beapplied to the portion 654 b of the continuous web of the waistcontainment member material 654 that is folded, and that once cut, willform the proximal portion 76 of the waist containment member 54. Theadhesive 680 can bond the waist containment member 54 to the chassis 11of the absorbent article 10 (e.g., the chassis web 611), as discussedfurther below.

The method 610 can additionally include cutting the continuous web ofwaist containment member material 654 into a discrete waist containmentmember 54. As illustrated in FIG. 8 , the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654 can be cut by a knife roll 693 includingone or more knives 693 a (two are shown in FIG. 8 ) and an anvil roll695, as is known in the art. The anvil roll 695 can supply a vacuumpressure (i.e., a negative pressure) through one or more holes in theouter surface of the anvil roll 695 to help secure the continuous web ofwaist containment member material 654 to the anvil roll 695. Thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 can be deliveredto the anvil roll 695 at any suitable rate. As depicted in FIG. 9 , thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 can be cut nearthe middle of where the intermittent adhesives 681 a, 681 b andintermittent adhesive 683 are applied to provide the longitudinaltack-down regions 84 a, 84 b and the lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83b for the waist containment member 54 near the first longitudinal sideedge 72 and the second longitudinal side edge 74 in adjacent waistcontainment members 54.

The knife roll 693 and anvil roll 695 can cut the continuous web ofwaist containment member material 654 completely when each knife 693 acomes into contact with the anvil roll 695. Alternatively, the kniferoll 693 and the anvil roll 695 can be configured to perforate thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654, in which casethe continuous web of waist containment member material 654 can be cutat the perforations by a further separating force at a rotating module602, which is described further below. Cutting the continuous web ofwaist containment member material 654 can provide a waist containmentmember 54 with a proximal portion 76, an intermediate portion 77, adistal portion 78, a first longitudinal side edge 72, a secondlongitudinal side edge 74, an upper lateral edge 75, and a lower lateraledge 88 as illustrated in FIG. 9 .

In some embodiments where an absorbent article 10 is manufactured in amachine direction process, the method 610 can include rotating the waistcontainment member 54 about 90 degrees after cutting the waistcontainment member 54 from the continuous web of waist containmentmember material 654. For example, in a preferred embodiment, a rotatingmodule 602 can rotate the waist containment member 54. The generalconstruction and operation of such a rotating module 602 is well knownand is exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,716,478 and 5,759,340 issued toBoothe et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,004 issued to Couillard et al.,each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to theextent not inconsistent herewith. The rotating module 602 can include aplurality of transfer arms 604 (twelve transfer arms 604 are shown inFIG. 8 ) and a plurality of transfer pucks 606 (twelve transfer pucks606 are shown in FIG. 8 ). The rotating module 602 can include arotating means 607, such as a shaft 607 a that can be directly orindirectly driven by a drive motor or other suitable means (not shown)as is conventionally used for such equipment. Thus, the rotation shaft607 a can propel the transfer arms 604 about an axis such that thetransfer pucks 606 can transfer the waist containment members 54 fromthe anvil roll 695 to the chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611). If theknife roll 693 and anvil roll 695 are configured to perforate thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654, the rotatingmodule 602 can be configured to cut the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654 at the perforations made by the kniferoll 693 by applying a force to the continuous web of waist containmentmember material 654 when a transfer puck 606 picks up the continuous webof waist containment member material 654 and begins to transfer thecontinuous web of waist containment member material 654 at a fasterspeed than the anvil roll 695.

Each of the transfer pucks 606 can be coupled to a respective transferarm 604. The transfer pucks 606 can be equipped with conventional vacuumassist or other means (not shown) to allow the transfer pucks 606 topick up the waist containment members 54 (or continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654) from the knife roll 693 and the anvilroll 695. Each of the transfer pucks 606 is equipped with conventionalmeans to pivot about the longitudinal axis of the respective transferarm 604 so that each of the transfer pucks 606 are rotatable orpivotable between a first position when the transfer pucks 606 firstreceive the waist containment member 54 (or the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654), such as shown by transfer puck 606 ain FIG. 8 , and a second position where the transfer pucks 606 transferthe waist containment member 54 to the chassis 11 (e.g., the chassis web611), such as shown by transfer puck 606 b. The transfer pucks 606 canrotate 90° from the first position (such as shown by transfer puck 606a) to the second position (such as shown by transfer puck 606 b).

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the waist containment member 54 isrotated about 90° by the rotating module 602 prior to bonding the waistcontainment member 54 to the chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611) to formcontainment member 54 on the absorbent article 10. It is contemplated,however, that in some embodiments no rotation of the waist containmentmember 54 is necessary. For example, if a cross-direction manufacturingprocess is utilized to provide an absorbent article, such as theabsorbent article 110 of FIGS. 6 and 7 as discussed herein, then norotation of the waist containment member 54 may be included in method610.

The method 610 can also include bonding the waist containment member 54to the chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611). The waist containment member54 can be bonded to the chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611) by theadhesive 680 applied to the portion 654 b of the continuous web of waistcontainment member material 654. The waist containment member 54 canalso be bonded to the chassis 11 (e.g., chassis web 611) by theintermittent adhesives 681 a, 681 b and intermittent adhesive 683, whichform the longitudinal tack-down regions 84 a, 84 b and the lateraltack-down regions 83 a, 83 b, as discussed above. The waist containmentmember 54 can be bonded to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11(e.g., chassis web 311). In some embodiments, the waist containmentmember 54 can be bonded to the body facing surface 45 of the absorbentassembly 44 (e.g., the body facing surface 645 of the absorbent assemblyweb 644). As discussed above, the distal portion 78 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be bonded to the body facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 to provide a first lateral tack-down region 83 a near thefirst longitudinal side edge 72 and a second lateral tack-down region 83b near the second longitudinal side edge 74 of the waist containmentmember 54 (e.g., with adhesive 683). The distal portion 78 of the waistcontainment member 54 can be bonded to the body facing surface 19 of thechassis 11 such that the first and second lateral tack-down regions 83a, 83 b are at least about 3.0 mm away from the lower lateral edge 88 ofthe waist containment member 54, when the absorbent article 10 is in thestretched, laid-flat configuration. Of course, the positioning of theadhesive 683 can be adjusted with respect to the folded edge 679 b ofthe continuous web of waist containment member material 654 such thatthe first and second lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 b are disposedmore than about 3.0 mm away from the lower lateral edge 88 of the waistcontainment member 54, as discussed above.

The adhesive 683 can be applied to the continuous web of the waistcontainment member material 654 such that the spacing betweenconsecutive adhesives 683 will form lateral tack-down regions 83 a, 83 bthat bond the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 tothe body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 from the first longitudinalside edge 72 of the waist containment member 54 to at least the proximalend 64 a of the base portion 64 of the first containment flap 50 andwill bond the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 tothe body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 from the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 of the waist containment member 54 to at leastthe proximal end 64 a of the base portion 64 of the second containmentflap 52. More preferably, the adhesive 683 can be spaced such that thespacing between consecutive adhesives 683 will form lateral tack-downregions 83 a, 83 b that bond the distal portion 78 of the waistcontainment member 54 to the body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11from the first longitudinal side edge 72 of the waist containment member54 to the projection portion 66 of the first containment flap 50 andwill bond the distal portion 78 of the waist containment member 54 tothe body facing surface 19 of the chassis 11 from the secondlongitudinal side edge 74 of the waist containment member 54 to theprojection portion 66 of the second containment flap 52.

If the chassis 11 is provided in the form of a chassis web 611, themethod 610 can also include cutting the chassis web 611 to formindividual absorbent articles. In one embodiment, cutting the chassisweb 611 can be done with a cutoff module (not shown) as is known in theart.

EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1

An absorbent article including a front waist region, a rear waistregion, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, theabsorbent article comprising: a chassis including an absorbent body, thechassis including a body facing surface and a garment facing surface; awaist containment member disposed on the body facing surface of thechassis, the waist containment member comprising: a first longitudinalside edge and a second longitudinal side edge, the first longitudinalside edge being disposed on a first side of the longitudinal axis andthe second longitudinal edge being disposed on a second side of thelongitudinal axis; an upper lateral edge and a lower lateral edge, thefirst longitudinal side edge, the second longitudinal side edge, theupper lateral edge and the lower lateral edge of the waist containmentmember being defined when the absorbent article is in a stretchedlaid-flat configuration; a proximal portion, the proximal portion beingcoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis; a distal portion; andan intermediate portion, the intermediate portion being disposed betweenthe proximal portion and the distal portion, the intermediate portionbeing free to move independent of the proximal portion and the distalportion and free to move independent of the body facing surface of thechassis to provide a containment pocket for containing body exudates;the distal portion being disposed underneath the intermediate portionwhen the absorbent article is in the stretched laid-flat configuration.

Embodiment 2

The absorbent article of embodiment 1, further comprising: a pair ofcontainment flaps including a first containment flap and a secondcontainment flap, the first containment flap being on the first side ofthe longitudinal axis and the second containment flap being on thesecond side of the longitudinal axis, the first and second containmentflap each comprising: a base portion including a proximal end and adistal end; and a projection portion configured to extend away from thebody facing surface of the chassis in at least the crotch region whenthe absorbent article is in a relaxed configuration.

Embodiment 3

The absorbent article of embodiment 2, wherein the waist containmentmember further comprises a first lateral tack-down region and a secondlateral tack-down region, the first lateral tack-down region comprisingthe distal portion of the waist containment member on the first side ofthe longitudinal axis being coupled to the body facing surface of thechassis from the first longitudinal side edge to at least the proximalend of the base portion of the first containment flap and the secondlateral tack-down region comprising the distal portion of the waistcontainment member on the second side of the longitudinal axis beingcoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis from the secondlongitudinal side edge to at least the proximal end of the base portionof the second containment flap.

Embodiment 4

The absorbent article of any one of embodiments 2 or 3, wherein thedistal portion of the waist containment member is coupled to the baseportion of the first and second containment flaps.

Embodiment 5

The absorbent article of embodiment 3, wherein the first lateraltack-down region and the second lateral tack-down region of the waistcontainment member are each disposed at least 3.0 mm away from the lowerlateral edge of the waist containment member when the absorbent articleis in the stretched laid-flat configuration.

Embodiment 6

The absorbent article of any one of the preceding embodiments, whereinthe waist containment member further comprises at least one elasticmember in the intermediate portion of the waist containment member.

Embodiment 7

The absorbent article of embodiment 6, wherein the waist containmentmember further comprises at least one elastic member in the distalportion of the waist containment member.

Embodiment 8

The absorbent article of any one of the preceding embodiments, whereinthe waist containment member is a single component and further comprisesa first fold between the proximal portion and the intermediate portiondefining the upper lateral edge of the waist containment member, and asecond fold in the intermediate portion defining the lower lateral edgeof the waist containment member.

Embodiment 9

The absorbent article of any one of the preceding embodiments, whereinthe intermediate portion is thicker than the proximal portion of thewaist containment member.

Embodiment 10

An absorbent article including a front waist region, a rear waistregion, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, theabsorbent article comprising: a chassis including an absorbent body, thechassis including a body facing surface and a garment facing surface; awaist containment member disposed on the body facing surface of thechassis, the waist containment member comprising: a first longitudinalside edge and a second longitudinal side edge, the first longitudinalside edge being disposed on a first side of the longitudinal axis andthe second longitudinal edge being disposed on a second side of thelongitudinal axis; an upper lateral edge and a lower lateral edge, thefirst longitudinal side edge, the second longitudinal side edge, theupper lateral edge and the lower lateral edge of the waist containmentmember being defined when the absorbent article is in a stretchedlaid-flat configuration; a proximal portion, the proximal portion beingcoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis; a distal portion; anda first lateral tack-down region and a second lateral tack-down region,the first lateral tack-down region including the distal portion of thewaist containment member on the first side of the longitudinal axisbeing coupled to the body facing surface of the chassis from the firstlongitudinal side edge in a lateral direction towards the proximal endof the base portion of the first containment flap and the second lateraltack-down region including the distal portion of the waist containmentmember on the second side of the longitudinal axis being coupled to thebody facing surface of the chassis from the second longitudinal sideedge in a lateral direction towards the proximal end of the base portionof the second containment flap, wherein the waist containment member isgathered in the longitudinal direction such that the waist containmentmember can extend away from the body facing surface of the chassis toprovide a containment pocket for containing exudates between the firstlateral tack-down region and the upper lateral edge of the waistcontainment member and between the second lateral tack-down region andthe upper lateral edge of the waist containment member.

Embodiment 11

The absorbent article of embodiment 10, wherein the waist containmentmember further comprises: a first longitudinal tack-down region and asecond longitudinal tack-down region, the first longitudinal tack-downregion being disposed near the first longitudinal side edge of the waistcontainment member and the second longitudinal tack-down region beingdisposed near the second longitudinal side edge of the waist containmentmember.

Embodiment 12

The absorbent article of embodiment 10 or embodiment 11, furthercomprising: a pair of containment flaps including a first containmentflap and a second containment flap, the first containment flap being onthe first side of the longitudinal axis and the second containment flapbeing on the second side of the longitudinal axis, the first and secondcontainment flap each comprising: a base portion including a proximalend and a distal end; and a projection portion configured to extend awayfrom the body facing surface of the chassis in at least the crotchregion when the absorbent article is in a relaxed configuration.

Embodiment 13

The absorbent article of embodiment 12, wherein the first lateraltack-down region extends from the first longitudinal side edge of thewaist containment member to at least the proximal end of the baseportion of the first containment flap and the second lateral tack-downregion extends from the second longitudinal side edge of the waistcontainment member to at least the proximal end of the base portion ofthe second containment flap.

Embodiment 14

The absorbent article of any one of embodiments 10-13, wherein thedistal portion of the waist containment member is gathered in thelongitudinal direction to provide the void volume.

Embodiment 15

The absorbent article of any one of embodiments 10-14, wherein the waistcontainment member further comprises an intermediate portion, theintermediate portion being disposed between the proximal portion and thedistal portion, the intermediate portion being free to move independentof the proximal portion and the distal portion; the distal portion beinggathered in the longitudinal direction by being disposed underneath theintermediate portion when the absorbent article is in the stretchedlaid-flat configuration.

Embodiment 16

The absorbent article of embodiment 15, wherein the first lateraltack-down and the second lateral tack-down are each disposed at least3.0 mm away from the lower lateral edge of the waist containment memberto provide the void volume when the absorbent article is in thestretched laid-flat configuration.

Embodiment 17

A method of manufacturing an absorbent article, the absorbent articleincluding a front waist region, a rear waist region, a crotch region, alongitudinal axis and a lateral axis, the method comprising: providing achassis including a body facing surface, the chassis comprising anabsorbent assembly including a bodyside liner, an outer cover, and anabsorbent body disposed between the bodyside liner and the outer cover,the absorbent assembly including a body facing surface; providing acontinuous web of waist containment member material; folding at least afirst portion of the continuous web of waist containment member materialupon itself to provide a folded edge; cutting the continuous web ofwaist containment member material to provide a waist containment memberincluding a proximal portion, an intermediate portion, a distal portion,a first longitudinal side edge, a second longitudinal side edge, anupper lateral edge, and a lower lateral edge, wherein the folded edgeprovides the distal portion to be folded against the intermediateportion and the folded edge defines the lower lateral edge of the waistcontainment member, the intermediate portion being disposed between theproximal portion and the distal portion; bonding the proximal portion ofthe waist containment member to the body facing surface of the chassis;bonding the distal portion of the waist containment member to the bodyfacing surface of the chassis to provide a first lateral tack-downregion near the first longitudinal side edge of the waist containmentmember and a second lateral tack-down region near the secondlongitudinal side edge of the waist containment member, the firstlateral tack-down region and the second lateral tack-down region beingformed such that the first lateral tack-down region and the secondlateral tack-down region of the waist containment member are disposedaway from the lower lateral edge of the waist containment member whenthe absorbent article is in the stretched laid-flat configuration.

Embodiment 18

The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of embodiment 17,further comprising bonding the waist containment member to the bodyfacing surface of the chassis to provide a first longitudinal tack-downregion near the first longitudinal side edge and a second longitudinaltack-down region near the second longitudinal side edge.

Embodiment 19

The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of embodiment 17 orembodiment 18, further comprising: providing a pair of containment flapsincluding a first containment flap and a second containment flap, thefirst containment flap and the second containment flap each including abase portion and a projection portion; and bonding the base portion ofeach of the first and the second containment flaps to the body facingsurface of the absorbent assembly, the base portion of each of the firstand the second containment flaps each including a proximal end and adistal end.

Embodiment 20

The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of embodiment 19,wherein the first lateral tack-down region comprises the distal portionof the waist containment member being coupled to the body facing surfaceof the chassis from the first longitudinal side edge to at least theproximal end of the base portion of the first containment flap and thesecond lateral tack-down region comprises the distal portion of thewaist containment member on the second side of the longitudinal axisbeing coupled to the body facing surface of the chassis from the secondlongitudinal side edge to at least the proximal end of the base portionof the second containment flap.

Embodiment 21

The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of embodiment 17,further comprising: folding at least a second portion of the continuousweb of waist containment member material upon itself to provide a secondfolded edge, the second folded edge defining the upper lateral edge ofthe waist containment member when the absorbent article is in thestretched laid-flat configuration.

All documents cited in the Detailed Description are, in relevant part,incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not tobe construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to thepresent invention. To the extent that any meaning or definition of aterm in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definitionof the term in a document incorporated by references, the meaning ordefinition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing an absorbent article,the absorbent article including a front waist region, a rear waistregion, a crotch region, a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, themethod comprising: providing a chassis including a body facing surface,the chassis comprising an absorbent assembly including a bodyside liner,an outer cover, and an absorbent body disposed between the bodysideliner and the outer cover, the absorbent assembly including a bodyfacing surface; providing a continuous web of waist containment membermaterial; folding at least a first portion of the continuous web ofwaist containment member material upon itself to provide a folded edge;cutting the continuous web of waist containment member material toprovide a waist containment member including a proximal portion, anintermediate portion, a distal portion, a first longitudinal side edge,a second longitudinal side edge, an upper lateral edge, and a lowerlateral edge, wherein the folded edge provides the distal portion to befolded against the intermediate portion and the folded edge defines thelower lateral edge of the waist containment member, the intermediateportion being disposed between the proximal portion and the distalportion; bonding the proximal portion of the waist containment member tothe body facing surface of the chassis; bonding the distal portion ofthe waist containment member to the body facing surface of the chassisto provide a first lateral tack-down region near the first longitudinalside edge of the waist containment member and a second lateral tack-downregion near the second longitudinal side edge of the waist containmentmember, the first lateral tack-down region and the second lateraltack-down region being formed such that the first lateral tack-downregion and the second lateral tack-down region of the waist containmentmember are disposed away from the lower lateral edge of the waistcontainment member when the absorbent article is in a stretchedlaid-flat configuration.
 2. The method of manufacturing an absorbentarticle of claim 1, further comprising bonding the waist containmentmember to the body facing surface of the chassis to provide a firstlongitudinal tackdown region near the first longitudinal side edge and asecond longitudinal tack-down region near the second longitudinal sideedge.
 3. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of claim 1,further comprising: providing a pair of containment flaps including afirst containment flap and a second containment flap, the firstcontainment flap and the second containment flap each including a baseportion and a projection portion; and bonding the base portion of eachof the first and the second containment flaps to the body facing surfaceof the absorbent assembly, the base portion of each of the first and thesecond containment flaps each including a proximal end and a distal end.4. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article of claim 3, whereinthe first lateral tack-down region comprises the distal portion of thewaist containment member being coupled to the body facing surface of thechassis from the first longitudinal side edge to at least the proximalend of the base portion of the first containment flap and the secondlateral tack-down region comprises the distal portion of the waistcontainment member on the second side of the longitudinal axis beingcoupled to the body facing surface of the chassis from the secondlongitudinal side edge to at least the proximal end of the base portionof the second containment flap.
 5. The method of manufacturing anabsorbent article of claim 1, further comprising folding at least asecond portion of the continuous web of waist containment membermaterial upon itself to provide a second folded edge, the second foldededge defining the upper lateral edge of the waist containment memberwhen the absorbent article is in the stretched laid-flat configuration.6. The method of claim 1, wherein bonding the distal portion of thewaist containment member to the body facing surface of the chassisfurther comprises bonding the distal portion of the waist containmentmember to the body facing surface of the chassis such that theintermediate portion is free to move independent of the proximal portionand the distal portion and free to move independent of the body facingsurface of the chassis to provide a containment pocket for containingbody exudates.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein bonding the distalportion of the waist containment member to the body facing surface ofthe chassis further comprises bonding the distal portion of the waistcontainment member to the body facing surface of the chassis such thatthe distal portion is disposed underneath the intermediate portion whenthe absorbent article is in the stretched laid-flat configuration. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprises forming a fold between theproximal portion and the intermediate portion which defines the upperlateral edge of the waist containment member.